SEG lecturers win Cities of Love Award

27 Apr 2019

COLA_Receiving the award

Beneficiaries witnessed the technological advancements bicycles have undergone at Shimano Cycling World

RP Students guiding the beficiaries on how to use mobile apps

RP Students conducting interviews to understand more about the beneficiaries way of lives and the challenge they have

Beneficiaries taking a stroll at Singapore Sports Hub while clocking the steps on their steps tracking app

A team of School of Engineering (SEG) lecturers received the Merit Award in the Group Category of the 2018’s Cities of Love Award for incorporating a service-learning component into a Year 1 engineering design module. The Cities of Love Award recognises individuals or organisations who are making a positive impact on their community. Dr Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District presented the team with their award over the weekend.

The award recognises the efforts of lecturers Janice Lim, Chng Lina, Wilbur Tan, Jason Yap, Chermaign Boo, Manik Gujral, Eugene Tham, Low Shin Yeh, Angela Chng, Chua Swee Cheng and Lieu Chee Fui in creating a module that encourages students to meaningfully give back to the community. In this module, SEG students have to conceptualise and share innovative solutions and prototypes which address the needs and real-life problems of the beneficiaries they have met and are working with. SEG students also enjoy the opportunity to teach and interact with these beneficiaries-cum-end users.

Eight hundred and seventy four SEG Year 1 students took this module, interacting with beneficiaries from five voluntary welfare organisations. The students taught them mobile apps, visited places with enhanced technologies, and carried out interviews about their daily lives and understanding their needs. The students then created working prototypes that address the beneficiaries’ needs and invited them to try the prototypes and share their feedback.

This programme was very well-received by all parties involved. Diploma in Supply Chain Management student Warren Chay shares a highlight of his experience, “this service-learning experience allowed us to bring the elderly to places they do not get a chance to visit often like the sports hub. I saw that most of the elderly that we were with enjoyed themselves. As we walked past the museum and as they saw the different sports, they recalled some vivid and happy memories that they shared with everyone”.